Use pthread_mutex_unlock(3THR) to unlock the mutex pointed to by mutex. (For Solaris threads, see mutex_unlock(3THR).)
Prototype: int pthread_mutex_unlock(pthread_mutex_t *mutex);
#include <pthread.h> pthread_mutex_t mutex; int ret; ret = pthread_mutex_unlock(&mutex); /* release the mutex */
pthread_mutex_unlock() releases the mutex object referenced by mutex. The manner in which a mutex is released is dependent upon the mutex's type attribute. If there are threads blocked on the mutex object referenced by mutex when pthread_mutex_unlock() is called, resulting in the mutex becoming available, the scheduling policy is used to determine which thread shall acquire the mutex. (In the case of PTHREAD_MUTEX_RECURSIVE mutexes, the mutex becomes available when the count reaches zero and the calling thread no longer has any locks on this mutex).
pthread_mutex_unlock() returns zero after completing successfully. Any other return value indicates that an error occurred. When any of the following conditions occurs, the function fails and returns the corresponding value.